Defensive lineman Kelby Collins is back for his sophomore year after posting 23 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one pass deflection, and one forced fumble across 12 games in his freshman campaign.
Collins has been observed working with the interior defensive line unit this spring after primarily working with Mike Peterson and the edges in year one.
“As of right now it’s long term, it’s just spring so you never really know,” Collins said on moving inside. “I’m open to anything, it really doesn’t matter where I’m playing, I have the confidence and the skill to know that wherever I move I’m going to do what I do.”
Across 270 snaps in 2023, Collins logged 48 as a defensive tackle, all of which came in the B gap.
“I think I can bring versatility on the front, obviously being a smaller interior rusher, I can bring some speed, when we need to pass rush I can also go back outside to the five and still bring that physicality and speed that we may need if we put in a different package, stuff like that. Just being selfless and whatever the team needs I feel like I’m able to do,” Collins said on what he can bring to the Gators this year.
Offseason improvements
Collins checked in at 275 pounds at Florida’s spring football weigh in, which is undersized for an interior defensive line. The Alabama native didn’t put on any weight in the offseason, but still worked on his body while perfecting his craft.
“Really just focus on getting my body right, getting my feet and my hands, hand eye coordination, really focused on getting all that right, just cause I knew I was gonna have to take a step in the right direction, in a bigger role on the team, so I really did everything I could to help the team succeed but also work on my craft a little bit,” Collins said on what he did in the offseason to prepare.
“I think I definitely got stronger, my feet got quicker, like I said hand eye coordination, I feel like I got better at that as well,” Collins said on his gains. “Really the same size as last year, around 275, not really much difference there, but I think I leaned up a little bit, got my body fat down, I think that’s what I improved on a little bit.”
New position, new coach
Moving to interior defensive line comes with a new position coach for Kelby Collins. Gerald Chatman, who was hired in the offseason, has been working with Collins for all five spring practices.
“Love coach Chatman,” Collins said. “Since he came in we talked, and he told me he’s going to coach me hard, and that’s something I appreciate. I want to be coached to the very best to be able to achieve what I want to achieve at the end of the day, and that’s something he does.”
One thing is for certain when you step on to Florida’s practice field; you will hear Gerald Chatman.
“Obviously y’all have heard him, he’s loud,” Collins said on Chatman. “He just holds us to a higher standard than maybe we hold ourselves at sometimes. He’s not going to let you slack, he’s not going to let you be lazy, he’s not going to let you play with bad technique. He’s a perfectionist at certain times, and like I told him, I want to be coached hard and I’m a very coachable player. So anything that he says to me, I’m going to try and apply that to my game and with doing that I’ve definitely seen a change.”
The players have seemingly gained respect for Chatman’s vigor coaching style.
“I like it, it just makes me practice harder at the end of the day,” Collins said on Chatman’s intensity. “I know he’s going to hold me to the standard, he’s going to hold the group to the standard. And to play for him you can’t be weak, he’s going to get on you, and at the end of the day that’s just for our benefit, and as a unit we want to get better, and he’s helping us do that by being the way he is.”
Kelby Collins graded as Florida’s 6th best defender among players with more than 50 snaps and will look to build off a promising freshman season in year two.